Guwahati: Aaranyak, the frontline biodiversity conservation organisation, has adopted a people-centric strategy to address human-elephant conflicts (HEC) in parts of Assam and Meghalaya.
A dedicated group of volunteers, chosen from HEC-affected villages, has been playing a crucial role in facilitating coexistence between communities and wild elephants.
These volunteers form part of Rapid Response Units (RRUs) established by Aaranyak in HEC-affected regions, primarily tasked with managing the HEC-alert network. Their responsibility includes timely warnings to villagers about the presence of wild elephants, ensuring safe passage.
The RRUs consist of local villagers who have volunteered to monitor elephants in their respective areas, acting as an early warning system by promptly sharing information about elephant movements via designated WhatsApp groups.
To enhance the capacity of these volunteer groups, Aaranyak’s resource team organises specially-designed training workshops for RRU members.
Dr. Bibhuti Prasad Lahkar, a conservation scientist at Aaranyak, stated, “We impart this training using a pre-designed module, conducting sessions on understanding elephant ecology and behavior, effective ways to minimize HEC, and how to monitor elephant movement in human-use areas, passing down information to villagers through a dedicated WhatsApp group to alert them. So far, we have formed six RRUs in eastern Assam and four in West Garo Hills in Meghalaya.”
Recently, Aaranyak organised a series of three workshops for RRU members in the eastern Assam districts of Majuli, Dibrugarh, and Jorhat from January 30 to February 1 this year.
The workshops began with an introduction to Aaranyak’s efforts in biodiversity conservation and ensuring people’s well-being. Aaranyak officials Zakir Islam Bora and Niranjan Bhuyan outlined the objectives of creating RRUs. Subsequent sessions included presentations by Aaranyak resource persons Rubul Tanti and Anjan Baruah, covering morphological characteristics for identifying elephants, their distribution, and the drivers of HEC. They also explained the roles and responsibilities expected from RRUs in minimizing HEC and discussed proven mitigation measures to promote coexistence.
Dr. Alolika Sinha, a conservation biologist at Aaranyak, mentioned, “Our team also conducted a hands-on session on how to assess crop and property damage and fill in the applications for claiming ex-gratia for the losses incurred due to HEC.”
“These trainings are part of the human-elephant coexistence initiative undertaken by Aaranyak and British Asian Trust, with support from Darwin Initiative in eastern Assam and Meghalaya,” added Aaranyak official Zakir Islam Bora.
Ejaj Ahmed, an Aaranyak official and one of the “AAPDA MITRA” (volunteers trained by the State Disaster Management Authority), demonstrated the administration of first aid in case of accidents caused by HEC.
In total, 133 villagers, members of RRUs and Anti-Depredation Squads formed by the Forest Department, and forest officials were trained during these workshops.
As part of the initiative, Aaranyak provided 10 rechargeable torch lights to Anti-Depredation Squads from Namsang Tea Estate, a region frequently visited by wild elephants, and to RRUs in Majuli.
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Aaranyak’s officials Pranjit Borah, Junak Baruah, Ananta Dutta, Cheeranjeev Kalita, Lakhinath Taid, Dhantu Gogoi, and Bijoy Kalita, along with village champions, actively participated in facilitating the training sessions.
Aaranyak’s resource team conducted pre and post evaluations of the participants to assess the knowledge gained during the training workshops.
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